CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

 

SURRENDER TO THE MASTER

 

 

SURRENDER to the feet of the Master means to merge

one's individual will in the will of the Master, and

to completely place oneself at his mercy. It is the surest

and easiest way to escape from all cares and anxieties. It

comes only when a disciple has complete faith and confidence

in the competency of the Master.

 

This type of self-surrender is like that of a completely

helpless patient who, trusting in the skill of a competent

surgeon, places his life in his hands and quietly submits

himself to his knife and lancet.

 

Or it may be compared to the trust given by the hopelessly

lost traveler in the wilderness to the forest ranger who

finds him and leads him out.

 

In exactly the same way, the work of the Master does

not consist in merely teaching the theory of Para Vidya

(Science of the Beyond), but it includes the practical

demonstration of results of spiritual experiments, and

help and guidance through all the disciples' difficulties.

A true friend does not only give theoretical lessons in

how to escape from mind and matter; he helps in effecting

the escape itself.

 

Suppose, for instance, that a person has to go abroad.

He will begin by making inquiries as to the various

means of transportation available, land, sea or air, as

he may choose. After he makes his choice he enters the

plane, ship or train, and relying on the skill of the

operator, takes his seat comfortably without the least

anxiety. Should the ship flounder, or the plane be caught

in a storm, it is the duty of the captain or pilot to take

every possible care to save the conveyance along with the

passengers for whom he is responsible.

 

In exactly the same way, an aspirant for spirituality

has, after careful investigation, to decide first about the

spiritual worthiness of a Master, and then to submit himself

wholly and solely to his authority and direction without any

mental reservations whatever; for he alone knows the turns

and twists of the spiritual path and is in a position to act

as an unerring guide.

 

The term surrender therefore means that a disciple

should have full confidence in the skill and competence

of the Master, and scrupulously follow and act on his

instructions whatever they may be, whether in conformity

with his own reason or not-for his reason being limited

may be faulty or fall far short of the depth or prove

uncertain.

 

It is not for him to question the propriety of the

Master's commandments. He must learn, like a soldier, to

obey his command without knowing the why and wherefore of

things; for the Master knows what is best and most suitable

in each case.

 

One must therefore obey the Master literally, and

straightway engage himself in the sadhan or spiritual

practice and discipline as it may be laid down for him.

 

This is the only way to spiritual success; there is no

other.

 

In this context, we have the testimony of Hafiz, a great

Sufi poet of Persia, who declared:

 

Dye thy prayer carpet in wine should the Master

so desire;

For he is not ignorant of the turns of the

highway ahead.

 

When a disciple entrusts his all to the Master, he becomes

carefree and the Master has of necessity to take over the

entire responsibility; just as a mother does for her child

who does not know what is good for him.

 

As the disciple develops in his sadhan, he fits himself

to receive more grace from the Master. Under his kind

and benign influence, the disciple begins to thrive from

day to day, and all his wishes are fulfilled without the

least trouble on his part.

 

Sages and seers cry from the housetops:

Ye seekers after peace, hie to a Master Saint.

 

In Discourse 17, Verse 66, of the Bhagavad Gita, the

Blessed Lord Krishna as a world teacher announces:

 

Abandon all duties and come to me, the only

refuge; I will deliver thee from all sins:

grieve not.

 

In the Holy Koran, we have likewise:

 

Whosoever surrenders his purpose to Allah

while doing good, his reward is with his

Lord, and no fear shall come upon him,

neither shall he grieve.

2.112;10.6

 

And in the Bible:

 

And I will turn my hand upon thee and purely

purge away thy dross, and take away all thy

sins.

ISAIAH 1:25

 

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy

laden, and I will give you rest.

 

MATTHEW 11:28

 

Also:

 

Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will

deliver thee.

 

Self-surrender is not an easy task. To accomplish it, one

has to recede back to the position of an innocent child.

It means an entire involution, a complete metamorphosis,

supplanting one's own individuality.

 

It is the path of self-abnegation, which not everyone

can take.

 

On the other hand, the path of spiritual discipline is

comparatively easy. Self-effort can be tried by anyone in

order to achieve spiritual advancement.

 

It is, no doubt, a long and tortuous path, as compared

with the way of self-surrender, but one can, with

confidence in the Master, tread it firmly step by step.

If, however a person is fortunate enough to take to

self-surrender, he can have all the blessings of the Master

quickly; for he goes directly into his lap and has nothing

to do by himself for himself.

 

He is then the Master's Elect, his beloved son, the son

of God Himself. But very rarely even a really blessed

soul may be able to acquire this attitude.

 

Should the Lord so ordain, then, O Nanak!

a person may take the path of self-surrender.

Blessed indeed is one who surrenders at the feet

of the Satguru;

Standing near Truth he revels in Truth and

easily merges in Truth,

O Nanak! It is by the Lord's grace that one

may meet such a Gurumukh.

 

In the scriptures one finds a large number of advantages

from adopting this path:

 

All ills and sorrows vanish by surrender at the

Master's feet.

In the world of joys and sorrows, he alone

escapes who gains the feet of the Satguru;

A Gurumukh stands apart from the three gunas

and is acceptable to the Lord.

In self-surrender the mind becomes purified;

but chanting of God's name alone does not

help.

For the world's good do those come who thirst

for a sight of Him;

He who surrenders makes a clean escape, with

desires all fulfilled.

All joys lie with Satguru; bow then at his feet;

blissful is the very sight of him.

With no regrets chant paeans unto him.

I see the world being consumed in the fire of

egoism. Escape thou by surrender to the

Master, and then attend to True Shabd.

I surrender to One who alone is the cause,

both material and efficient. His grace has

shown the native land in the light of the

moon.

With a Life Impulse from a perfect Master,

Ram Naam rests in me;

O Nanak! With a surrender to the Master's

feet the Lord Himself becomes merciful.

In Kali Yuga Naam lies hidden everywhere,

and the Lord in fullness pervades;

But the precious Naam becomes manifest in

that surrender to the Master.

 

With the blessings of the Guru one becomes fearless of

death and is successfully ferried across the sea of life.

 

He happily conquers death and never goes to

hell. O Nanak! He is saved by surrender, for

Hari just takes him into His care.

 

Having been accepted by the Acceptor, all his acts

become pure.

 

O Nanak! Never will he go to hell; such is the

gift of surrender.

None but the Elect engage in the devotion of

Naam. O Nanak! With surrender at the

Master's feet one never comes and goes.

The dispeller of ills and Lord of all is attained

through surrender to a Sadh; and the tumultuous

sea of life is ferried across quickly.

 

When a jiva surrenders to the Satguru, the Lord takes

him under His own protection and grants unto him the

blessings of Sehaj (eternal happiness). All doubts and

fears now disappear and he comes to his own real Self.